"My Ancestors built this city. For centuries, we toiled, and now we stand high above the streets, able to see through all the smog, at the whirring machines of progress." —Belarin Vladislaus
Government: Despotic (Headed by Belarin Vladislaus of The Vladislaus Family)
Defense: Private military police and slave drivers
Commerce: Mining petrochemicals, precious stones, alchemical reagents, precious metals.
Inhabitants: The nobility is primarily human, with some half-elves thrown in the mix. There are many, many different races inhabiting the lower parts of the city, however.
Dominant worship: Kamus
Ontas is Ashan's major industrial heart. It can easily be identified from miles away by the thick, black smog cloud that ceaselessly rises from the city's blast furnaces and factories. The area underground has been mined for centuries, and the mines have gotten deeper and more dangerous as they reach further into the underdark. More than once, strife has broken out between mining parties and Drow elves, or rivaling Svirfneblin mining colonies.
There is a large disparity in wealth between the upper and lower classes. The business of Ontas is vastly lucrative, and many get rich quite quickly. The members of the upper class make most of their money by buying slaves, hiring slave drivers to keep them in line, and putting them to work. Deep below the surface, there are no military police to keep order. As such, only the hardiest and toughest slave drivers can keep control of their workers. Slave drivers have one of the highest paid positions in Ontas.
In the year 1249, the despot suddenly vanished, shortly after his wife was assassinated. His son and daughter disappeared similarly. In the subsequent time, a chaotic evil dictator has rose to power, implementing a slew of new cutthroat, profit-driven policies. He ordered the previous families' emblem destroyed, as it appears below:
Belarin Vladislaus, the former despot, made his return in 1250, after aiding The Tiki Company in their struggle against Captain Krogan. He murdered the man who had seized his power in broad daylight, and regained control of his city through one sheer display of authority. None of the old despot's policies were revoked.
Belarin lives in The Citadel; the tallest structure in Ontas. It serves as the governmental building, records office, and accommodations for much of the nobility and wealthy visitors. It overlooks The Hub, which is a vast brass structure that serves as the entry point to the hundreds of mines below the surface. From this point, elevators permeate deep underground, and mining equipment is ferried in from the various factories and forges.
Notable People
- Belarin Vladislaus - Despot
- Elizabeth Vladislaus - Despot's Wife (Deceased)
- Inphyy Ylliana - Despot's Daughter
- Thoros Darkbane - Despot's Son
- Kathleen Jones - Former Resident
- Jade Serket - Former Slave Driver
